Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy take the oath before testifying at a House Oversight hearing on tainted drinking water in the city of Flint. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

Michigan’s governor and the nation's top environmental official pointed fingers at the other as they testified Thursday on the water crisis in Flint, but they both agreed on one thing: The city’s residents were exposed to lead in their drinking water for months because of failures of the government officials charged with protecting them.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy said state officials were “intransigent, misleading and contentious,” while Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said EPA officials were “inefficient, ineffective, and unaccountable bureaucrats” who “allowed this disaster to continue unnecessarily.”